[Quietcars] Toyota admits Prius had brake design

[michael townsend]

One more for Toyota.  They have been under the microscope lately, but, I
think that all auto manufacturers have had their bad streaks of luck.  And,
because of global input of each manufacturer, for example the CTS
accelerator pedal assemblies that are universally utilized by each
man7ufacturer, Toyota may be one of many who will experience the issue of
unintended acceleration.  This brake software recall message is also one
which Prius owners should check out thoroughly and act if their VIN number
is one of those which is being looked into.  


There have been recalls or technical service bulletins issued on vehicles
for as long as I can remember, and this recall situation is not unique to
Toyota. Ford and GM, as well as Chrysler have made cars for years that been
inferior in design and overall quality, and they have issued recalls for
engines that self-destructed due to lack of lubrication or cooling.  There
have been transmission recalls for all manufacturers.  Ford had a large
issue with cars that were not fitted with a piece of shielding that would
have prevent cars from exploding if they were rear ended, and the famous
Ford Explorer/Mercury Mountaineer recall of tires and suspension is one for
the books as well.   

All manufacturers have done their part to fix wrongs once they were found
out by consumers or watchdog organizations.  And, I'm glad for the fact that
manufacturers and consumer groups work together on these issues.   

The sad part of this whole recall issue is this, or at least, it's my humble
opinion of these things.  I think that many people don't want to be bothered
with bringing their cars in for repair because it takes time away from their
regular chores to do so, and most often, they don't either have access to a
rental car or another vehicle to drive, or their communities don't have a
rental facility available.  Please take advantage of the recalls.  If it
weren't for consumer organizations and watchdog campaigns, this notification
process probably would have never been off the ground.  

Mike and Brent

  

Toyota admits Prius had brake design problems Employees at Toyota Motor
Corp's Tsutsumi plant work at a Prius hybrid assembly line in Toyota,
central Japan. Toyota said its North American and Japanese dealers had
received several dozen complaints over what drivers characterised as
insufficient braking on the new Prius hybrid when driving over bumpy or
frozen roads.
REUTERS/Toyota
Motor Corp/Handout
Comments (3)
Yuri Kageyama
Tokyo - Associated Press
Published on Thursday, Feb. 04, 2010 3:58AM EST Last updated on Thursday,
Feb. 04, 2010 4:04AM EST T oyota admitted design problems with the brakes in
its prized Prius, adding to the catalogue of woes for the world's No. 1 auto
maker still reeling from a massive U.S.
recall involving faulty gas pedals.
Toyota Motor Corp. spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said Thursday that Toyota
discovered there were design problems with the antilock brake system and
corrected them for Prius models sold since late January, including those
being shipped overseas.
But the company said it was still investigating how to inform people who had
bought the gas-electric hybrid cars. Nothing was decided on that front for
Prius cars sold overseas, according to Toyota.
Complaints about braking problems in the third-generation Prius have been
reported in both the U.S. and Japan, combining to some 180, and come amid a
global recall of nearly 4.5 million other top-selling vehicles for faulty
gas pedals.
"We are investigating whether there are defects in the Prius," Toyota
executive Hiroyuki Yokoyama told reporters at Toyota's Tokyo headquarters.
The company gave few details of the brake flaw. A major Toyota dealership in
Tokyo said the auto maker had informed dealers that Prius brakes can
sometimes fail to work for less than a second but it had not told owners.
"It is disappointing because the Prius was receiving such rave reviews,"
said Hiroyuki Naito, a manager at the dealership. The latest model Prius hit
showrooms last May.
The problem with the Prius - the best-selling hybrid in the world and
Toyota's flagship model - is a big embarrassment for the auto maker in its
home turf Japan and another blow in the U.S., its biggest market.
In recent weeks, the auto maker had answered questions about its overseas
recalls for gas pedals with assurances that problems didn't extend to
Japanese vehicles, implying that it was doing a better job with quality
control in Japan.
The transport minister is ordering an investigation and said a recall for
the Prius should be considered. U.S. authorities are also investigating.
Earlier in Washington, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood startled the
public with a comment, which he later retracted, that Americans should park
their recalled Toyotas unless driving to dealers for accelerator repairs.
The popular gas-electric Prius was not part of the most recent recall over
sticking gas pedals in eight top-selling models including the Camry that
spanned the U.S., Europe and China.
Toyota senior managing director Takahiro Ijichi defended the automaker's
quality standards.
"We have not sacrificed the quality for the sake of saving costs," he said.
"Quality
is our lifeline. We want our customers to feel safe and regain their trust
as soon as possible."
Toyota for the first time gave an estimate of the costs of the U.S. recall
at up to $2-billion (U.S.), with $1.1-billion for the costs for the repairs
and $770-million to $880-million in lost sales.
The Prius, the world's best-selling hybrid, has been extremely popular in
Japan because of government incentives that made hybrids tax-free. More than
170,000 the new remodelled Prius cars were sold in Japan and about 103,000
have been sold in the U.S. since May.
Despite snowballing problems with quality, Toyota said Thursday it returned
to profit in the October-December quarter because of healthy sales of its
green models including the Prius, and raised its forecast for the fiscal
year through March.
Net profit for October-December was about $1.7-billion. It forecast a
$880-million annual profit compared with its previous forecast for a
$2.2-billion loss.
Toyota also raised its full year sales outlook to 7.18 million units from
7.03 million.
The revised forecast remains lower than the 7.57 million vehicles it sold
last fiscal year. And it is unclear how well Toyota sales and profits will
hold up in coming months.